FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT CALLIGRAPHY - PAGE 3

BOCA RATON -- Vicki Yeager and Julia Schmitz, both of Boca Raton, couldn`t care less about their 12-year-old figures. "We`ve had funnel cake, pretzels, steak sandwiches, french fries and chocolate-covered strawberries," Vicki said. The smorgasboard was eaten during a two-hour walk around the "Meet Me Downtown" festival, said Vicki`s mom, Judy. But Julia insisted the day wasn`t over. There were artists` paintings and jewelry makers yet to see. "We both bought matching bracelets," Julia said, showing off the delicate gold circle around her small wrist.

One lesson learned Saturday at the Oshogatsu (Japanese New Year`s) celebration at Delray Beach`s Morikami Museum was how lucky we are to have only 26 letters in our alphabet. Can you imagine using a Japanese typewriter with its 3,000 characters? Sheesh! Of course, with today`s computers, printing things in Japanese is easier. "I type Japanese words spelled in the English alphabet into my computer," said Mamora Toshidu, who taught calligraphy at the Oshogatsu. "And the computer finds the right ideographs."

Fred Fang Yu Wang, an artist, calligrapher and expert in Chinese art who helped develop the first computer system to teach Chinese, died on Oct. 6 at New York Hospital in Manhattan. He was 84 and lived in Manhattan. Mr. Wang, who early in life was known as Wang Fang-yu, was born in Beijing in 1913, and educated at the Catholic university there. He came to the United States in 1945 and earned a master's degree from Columbia University in 1946. He taught Chinese language and literature at Yale University from 1945 to 1965, then joined the faculty of Seton Hall University, where he became chairman of the department of Asian studies and curator of the Oriental Art Collection.

DELRAY BEACH -- Drawing the Japanese symbols for "Happy New Year" was tricky, but 5-year-old Cassie Vale was determined. In a garden outside The Morikami museum on Thursday, Cassie leaned over a table, poked a thick paint brush into a small dish of black ink and swiped at a blank sheet of white paper. "It`s a good thing she`s wearing a black dress," confided Cassie`s mother, Elaine Vale. She smiled as she picked up her other daughter, 3-year-old Monica, and watched. "Very nice, Cassie.

An exhibition celebrating the birth of freedom and democracy in America and Israel will be on display on the sixth floor of the Main Library from Wednesday to Nov. 10. "The Promise" is a historical collection of Ernest W. Michel, a German-born Holocaust survivor. The collection includes photographs, letters, documents and autographs of people who have been part of Jewish life in the 20th century. "Parallel Visions," from The Kaller's America Gallery Collection, celebrates the unique bond between Israel and the United States.

The Bonesetter's Daughter. Amy Tan. Putnam. $25.95. 353 pp. The Bonesetter's Daughter, by Amy Tan, is the story of three generations of Chinese women and how each one deals with motherhood: the first, as a stranger; the second, a constant force; and the third, as a child. Ruth Young is a ghostwriter who has put into words everyone's story but her own. Her mother, LuiLing Young, is a traditional Chinese woman trying to create balance between the American way of life and the old ways of when she was a child.

Rare and out-of-print books will be on exhibit and for sale at the eighth annual Fort Lauderdale Antiquarian Book Fair Friday and Saturday at the Broward County Main Library in Fort Lauderdale. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The schedule for Friday includes: "Is There Gold in Your Attic?" by Mike Slicker, of Lighthouse Books, noon; "How to Begin Collecting", by Arthur Minters of Booksellers & Appraisers, 2 p.m.; "Jackets Required: 20th Century Book Jackets", exhibit opening and program with Steven Heller, author of Jackets Required, 5 p.m. Saturday's schedule includes: "Beginner's Guide to Evaluating Your Books", with free appraisals of two books, by Robert Hittel, 10:30 a.m.; "How to Identify Rare Books and First Editions", by Steve Eisenstein, of A-Book-A-Brac-Shop, noon.

Emergency director named group chairman Tony Carper, director of the Broward Emergency Management Agency, has been named vice president and program chairman for the 2005 Governor's Hurricane Conference in Tampa in May. This is the fifth year Carper will serve in this position. He has participated in each conference since its beginning 19 years ago, serving in a variety of roles. Next year's conference will provide information acquired through firsthand experiences dealing with preparedness, response and recovery of Florida's 2004 hurricane season.

The garage has been cluttered with crayons, paints and other art materials since the Children`s Academy of Fine Arts opened two years ago in Lisa Richman`s Lake Worth home. A clear plastic shower curtain was transformed into a display area. Attached to the curtain are clear plastic pockets that hold some of her students` artwork. Richman said she plans to include the shower curtain in the exhibits that will be shown at the "You Gotta Have Art" festival on Sunday. The event, scheduled to run from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Lake Worth Art League, will include demonstrations by local artists as well as hands-on activities for children of all ages.

Adults with a few weeks to spare can spend this spring visiting sacred shrines around the world, viewing African art or studying Chinese calligraphy. Passports aren`t necessary, however. The exotic sites and cultures are part of a series of non-credit humanities courses to be held at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood. Classes begin April 30. Registration fees vary, depending on the length of each course, said Mary Jane Tucker, curator of education. The program is a joint effort between the center and the Elders Institute at Florida International University`s North Miami campus.